Researchers have linked sugary drinks to 180-thousand deaths a year worldwide, including 25-thousand in the United States. Research teams with the Harvard School of Public Health spent five years going over national health data from around the world. They tied sugar-sweetened drinks to deaths from diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and cancer. The lead author of the study says sugar-sweetened drinks are linked to obesity and that obesity-related diseases cause a high number of deaths.

The study was presented at the American Heart Association's annual meeting in New Orleans yesterday.